U.S. patent number 5,347,904 [Application Number 08/107,587] was granted by the patent office on 1994-09-20 for modular guitar with easily replaceable neck.
Invention is credited to Barry G. Lawrence.
United States Patent |
5,347,904 |
Lawrence |
September 20, 1994 |
Modular guitar with easily replaceable neck
Abstract
A guitar is provided with an easily replaceable neck which can
be quickly and easily changed for another in the event of damage or
for other reasons as desired. The neck is formed from a glass fiber
reinforced nylon and includes a neck extension which forms a yoke
for releasably bolting to the sound box. The sound box includes a
groove for reception of the neck extension to insure correct
alignment upon assembly.
Inventors: |
Lawrence; Barry G.
(Thomasville, NC) |
Family
ID: |
22317353 |
Appl.
No.: |
08/107,587 |
Filed: |
August 18, 1993 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
84/291;
84/293 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G10D
1/08 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G10D
1/00 (20060101); G10D 1/08 (20060101); G10D
003/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;84/267,275,291,293 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Gellner; Michael L.
Assistant Examiner: Stanzione; Patrick J.
Claims
I claim:
1. A guitar having a replaceable neck for attachment to the sound
box comprising: a sound box having a front and a back surface, said
back surface defining a neck extension groove, said sound box
defining a bridge support aperture, said bridge support aperture
extending from said front surface directly to said neck extension
groove to provide communication therewith, a neck extension, said
extension for releasable reception by said neck extension
groove.
2. The guitar of claim 1 and including a bridge support, said
bridge support attached to said neck extension.
3. The guitar of claim 1 and including a fret board, said fret
board attached to said neck.
4. The guitar of claim 3 wherein said fret board extends beyond
said neck over said neck extension.
5. The guitar of claim 1 and including an adjustable neck truss
rod, said truss rod contained within said neck.
6. The guitar of claim 1 wherein said neck comprises a fiberglass
filled nylon composition.
7. The guitar of claim 1 and including means to secure said neck to
said soundboard, said securing means attached to said neck
extension.
8. The guitar of claim 2 wherein said bridge support is positioned
vertically on said neck extension for reception within said bridge
support aperture.
9. An electric guitar having a replaceable neck for attachment to a
sound box comprising: a sound box having a front and a back
surface, said back surface defining a longitudinally positioned
neck extension groove, said sound box defining a bridge support
aperture, said bridge support aperture comprising an opening from
said front surface of said sound box to said neck extension groove
for communication therewith, a neck extension, said extension
joined to said neck, a fret board, said fret board attached to said
neck and having a length greater than said neck, said fret board
and said neck extension defining a yoke for engagement with said
sound box, a bridge support, said bridge support attached to said
neck extension for reception within said bridge support aperture,
means for attaching said neck to said sound box, said attaching
means positioned through said neck extension whereby said attaching
means can be removed and said neck replaced with another neck on
said sound box.
10. The electric guitar of claim 9 wherein said attaching means
comprises threaded bolts.
11. The electric guitar of claim 9 wherein said neck is formed from
a reinforced synthetic plastic.
12. The electric guitar of claim 9 wherein said neck is molded.
13. The electric guitar of claim 9 wherein said sound box comprises
a molded synthetic plastic.
14. The electric guitar of claim 9 and including a sound pick-up,
said pick-up attached to said sound box.
15. The electric guitar of claim 9 wherein said neck includes an
adjustable truss rod.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention herein pertains to musical instruments and
particularly to stringed instruments which have a sound box and a
neck extending therefrom.
2. Description Of The Prior Art and Objectives of the Invention
Traveling musicians and others that play stringed instruments such
as guitars often have damage occur to the neck or sound box and
must substitute their favorite instrument for an unfamiliar one of
the same or lesser quality. Instrument repairmen often take two or
more weeks to repair a badly damaged instrument if parts are
available and the cost can be quite high. In addition, certain
musicians like to change their instruments by substituting one
sound box for a sound box of a different color and would like to be
able to change the neck of the instrument from time to time to
achieve an improved or different tonal output. Instruments such as
guitars, banjos and other stringed instruments are conventionally
made to generally remain intact and are glued or otherwise
permanently assembled except for minor exchangeable components such
as strings, bridges and the like.
Thus, with the cost and time consuming efforts required to
significantly modify or repair conventional stringed instruments
such as guitars or banjos, the present invention was conceived and
one of its objectives is to provide a stringed instrument which can
be significantly modified, repaired or changed with minimum
effort.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a
guitar which has a replaceable neck which can be exchanged in a
matter of minutes by a relatively unskilled person using ordinary
hand tools at very little cost.
It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a
guitar structure which has superior tonal qualities and which can
be disassembled and reassembled with little effort or training.
Various other objectives and advantages of the present invention
will become apparent to those skilled in the art as a more detailed
description is set forth below.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The aforesaid objectives are realized by providing a guitar and
particularly an electric guitar having a easily replaceable neck.
The neck is attached to a neck extension and fret board such as by
gluing or may be integrally molded which components together form a
yoke for reception of the sound box. The neck extension is
releasably joined to the sound box by a plurality of bolts which
can be quickly aligned and tightened. The guitar neck and neck
extension are formed from a glass fiber filled nylon such as by
conventional molding techniques and the neck includes a
conventional truss rod which can be adjusted to a particular
stiffness as desired by the musician.
The sound box is likewise molded from a synthetic polymer plastic
such as nylon or polystyrene in a variety of colors and along the
back of the sound box a neck extension groove is provided which
terminates into a bridge support aperture. The guitar can be easily
assembled and disassembled by unskilled persons and the
construction will allow the neck and sound box to be quickly
changed and properly aligned in the event of damage to one part or
for other reasons as desired.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 demonstrates a front elevational view of a guitar of the
invention;
FIG. 2 pictures a rear view of the sound box of the guitar as shown
in FIG. 1 with the neck removed therefrom;
FIG. 3 illustrates a side elevational view of the neck and certain
of the attached components as shown in FIG. 1; and
FIG. 4 depicts a bottom plan view of the neck as shown in FIG. 3
with the adjustable truss rod shown in dashed lines.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The preferred form of the invention is shown in FIGS. 1-4 whereby
the neck and neck extension are formed from a molded synthetic
glass fiber filled material such as nylon. The sound box is
likewise molded from a synthetic material such as nylon or
polystyrene. The neck and neck extension can be quickly removed
from the sound box and replaced with another as desired by using
simple hand tools. The sound box includes a longitudinal groove
along the back and a bridge support opening therethrough. Within
said longitudinal groove a series of threaded apertures are
provided for securing the neck extension to the sound box. Along
the top of the neck a conventional fret board is positioned which
extends partially above the neck extension, forming a yoke
therebetween for reception of the sound box. At the rear of the
neck extension a vertical bridge support is provided for
positioning within the sound box support bridge aperture for
attaching a conventional bridge atop the support, once the bridge
support is fully inserted into the aperture.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS AND OPERATION OF THE
INVENTION
For a better understanding of the invention and its use, turning
now to the drawings, FIG. 1 demonstrates in top plan view an
electric guitar utilizing the novel structure, although other
stringed instruments such as conventional guitars and banjos could
likewise be constructed. As shown, guitar 10 comprises neck 11
which is attached through neck extension 14 to sound box 12 by
conventional securing means such as bolts 13 as seen in FIG. 3. A
plurality of for example, four bolts 13 are inserted through
openings 15 in neck extension 14 (FIG. 4) and engage threaded
openings 16 in longitudinal neck extension groove 20 of sound box
12 as seen in FIG. 2. As further shown, sound box 12 defines bridge
support opening 18 which extends from sound box front surface 19
through sound box 12 where it meets neck extension groove 20 at
rear surface 17 as also seen in FIG. 2. Cut-out 21 is shown at the
forward edge of sound box 12 for engagement with yoke 27
illustrated in FIG. 3. Also, neck 11 is shown with neck extension
14 permanently attached or integrally formed therewith as is at the
rear end of neck 11, headstock 25 attached at the opposite end.
Neck 11 and the joined components are of course seen in FIG. 3
detached from sound box 12. Neck 11 is also joined or molded with
fret board 22 which has a series of conventional frets 23 placed
therealong. Fret board 22 extends beyond neck 11 at the rear end
thereof and slightly overhangs neck extension 14. Thus, the
terminal end 24 of fret board 11 and the front end 26 of neck
extension 14 provide a yoke 27 for receiving cut-out 21 of sound
box 12 to form a stable connection between neck 11 and sound box 12
as neck extension 14 is secured within neck extension groove 20 of
sound box 12 by bolts 13 as earlier explained. Neck extension
groove 20 is formed with tight tolerances to snugly receive neck
extension 14 to insure proper alignment upon assembly.
Neck 11 is formed from a glass fiber reinforced polymeric material
such as nylon by conventional molding techniques and includes an
adjustable steel or other rigid truss rod 28 therein. Truss rod 28,
as in conventional wooden guitar necks can be adjusted by knob 29
which is exposed proximate headstock 25.
It is often desireable for a musician to change the neck or sound
box of a guitar for any of a variety of reasons. Oftentimes, necks
or sound boxes are damaged and repairs can take weeks to complete.
It has been found that the present invention will provide
convenience to the user since the neck or sound box can be changed
in a matter of minutes at far less expense than repairing
conventional guitars. No special tools are needed and with a few
adjustments and tuning steps, the guitar is ready to be played
after a neck or sound box has been changed.
To assemble guitar 10 as shown in FIG. 1, sound box cut-out 21 is
positioned against yoke 27 of neck extension 14. Bridge support 30
is aligned with bridge support opening 18 on back surface 17 of
sound box 12 and neck extension 14 is then urged into neck
extension groove 20. Bolts 13 as shown in FIG. 3 are then tightened
through neck extension opening 15 (FIG. 4) into threaded openings
16 located in neck extension groove 20 (FIG. 2). Next, bridge 31 as
shown in FIG. 1 is affixed to the top of bridge support 30 with
screws (not shown) from front surface 19 of sound box 12. Strings
33 are then connected to bridge 31 and headstock 25. Truss rod 28
can then be adjusted and guitar 10 tuned as conventional. To
replace either sound box 12 or neck 11, the steps mentioned above
are reversed and in a matter of minutes a new neck or sound box can
be in use.
As shown in FIG. 1 guitar 10 comprises an electric guitar having a
conventional front pick-up 35, rear pick-up 36, on/off switch 37
and volume control knobs 38 and 39. Other conventional components
such as a shoulder support strap, electrical wires, speakers and
the like are not pictured herein but would be used as required and
understood by those skilled in the art.
The illustrations and examples provided herein are for explanatory
purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the appended
claims to the exact embodiments or instrument shown.
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